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Gay San Francisco

Gay San Francisco

San Francisco grew large during the California Gold Rush. For some time a haven for prostitution and gambling, it was known by the dawn of the 20th Century for its flamboyant style, stately hotels, ostentatious Nob Hill mansions, and a thriving arts scene.

The turning point in the city's modern gay evolution took place during and shortly after World War II. As the port of embarkation for military men shipping out to, and returning from the Pacific Theater, San Francisco experienced a post-war confluence of young servicemen who found this to be a more tolerant hometown, joining the many new immigrants attracted by good economic prospects. North Beach Beat Generation writers and musicians, who fueled a San Francisco Renaissance in the 1950s,embraced and celebrated alternative lifestyles and more fluid sexual identities. Summer of Love flower-power children of the late 1960s, disillusioned and disgusted with conventional American life, and angry about the Vietnam War, also came from all over the USA.

Psychedelic, transgressive and confrontational, colorful in art, fashion and music, the Counterculture, along with political activists of the Anti-War and Civil Rights movements, explored new possibilities for Americans dissatisfied with the status quo. Many came here, even if they had to hitch-hike, to converge on the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood between Golden Gate Park and Downtown. Gay people, feeling the same rage and frustration that exploded in New York during the Stonewall Riots, were among them, coming to concentrate on several areas over the hill from the Haight, particularly in what was then called Eureka Valley, now known as the Castro, where a generation of LGBT social and political activists began the work that would transform the whole Bay Area.

For some old-timers, the 2008 movie based on the life and assassination of gay city supervisor Harvey Milk, brought back memories of how the Castro once looked. A neighborhood of low rents and shabby businesses to match, it had been filled with vacant storefronts, with handbills plastered everywhere. The district was so transformed by years of gay attention that the film's producers had to de-gentrify the Castro, then put it all back together. The restoration of the the landmark Castro Theater to its glory days was one benefit, replacing the burned-out neon tubes, and refurbishing the colorful facade.

Getting hereSan Francisco International Airport is not in San Francisco but in San Mateo County, about 20 minutes south of downtown. BART rapid transit connects the airport to destinations throughout the Bay Area.

Amtrak operates a shuttle bus from Transbay Center, and three other downtown locations, to the rail station across the Bay in Emeryville. From there they offer rail service to 500 or so destinations in 46 states. Commuter and tourist ferries connect the Ferry Building and Pier 39 to points in Marin County, Oakland, and to the north, Vallejo in Solano County.

The new Transbay Transit Center, next to Millennium Tower, is scheduled to open for bus service in March 2018. The east end of the Lower Concourse will connect with the BART/MuniEmbarcadero Station. The Intercity Bus Facility, between Beale and Main Streets, will be dedicated to intercity bus services such as Greyhound and Amtrak. Plans for the Caltrain rail line to be extended underground will bring California High Speed Rail to the Transit Center, at first from here to Los Angeles, and eventually all the way from Sacramento to the San Diego International Airport.

Getting around
When you arrive at the airport, buy a one-, three- or seven-day transit passport for unlimited rides on San Francisco's Muni transit system, including the world-famous cable cars. Those passes cost $21, $32 and $42, respectively. Otherwise the fare is $2.50 for buses and trolleys and $7 for cable cars. Before you arrive, you can buy a CityPass, which includes a three-day transit Visitor Pass, plus admission to a number of attractions over a 9-day period, for $94 (all prices July 2017).

BART, the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, connects San Francisco's Downtown and Mission Districts with East Bay towns, and beyond through northern San Mateo County. Going southbound it connects to San Francisco International Airport, and Millbrae.The Caltrain commuter rail system operates along the peninsula, from San Francisco/ 4th & King, to San Jose Diridon Station, and beyond.

Many local residents commute by bicycle, steep hillsides notwithstanding. For bike rentals see Blazing Saddles with 7 locations including Fisherman's Wharf; Bay City Bike and Ford GoBike, among others. The SF Bicycle Coalition provides maps and other cycling info. Cruising the Castro offers walking tours of gay San Francisco, starting from the Rainbow Flag at the corner of Castro and Market Street.

San Francisco's newest tourist attractions are the de Young Museum and the Academy of Sciences, in the middle of Golden Gate Park, the city's largest green space. You can spot the de Young by its 144-foot tower, which offers panoramic views of the park. The Academy of Sciences houses an aquarium, a planetarium, a natural history museum and a four-story rainforest.
While you're in Golden Gate Park, stay a while. Must-sees include the Japanese Tea Garden and the Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden, which features a full-size windmill surrounded by tulips.

SFMOMA, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, collects and exhibits the foremost artists and designers of our time. Their programs and exhibits also take place at other sites around the Bay Area.

NeighborhoodsThe Castro. Three miles west of downtown at the end of Market Street, the district with the iconic street that's home to the Castro Theater, has gay-world stature riveled only by Christopher Street in New York City. A sidewall plaque honors Harvey Milk in front of his old camera store at 575 Castro, and a wall mural depicts him as if looking out from a window. A large part of the gay business community is concentrated in the Castro, but many gay people live in surrounding residential areas. The GLBT History Museum, and Pink Triangle Park, at 17th and Market, are among other local attractions. The Frameline LGBT Film Festival in June, and the October Castro Street Fair, are important annual events here. San Francisco's Berlin & Beyond Film Festival, an annual week in February, and the San Francisco International Film Festival of two weeks in April, both have screenings at the Castro Theatre. More gay businesses are to be found along Market Street, heading from Castro towards City Hall, through the Duboce Triangle and Hayes Valley neighborhoods.

Chinatown. San Francisco lays claim to having the world's largest Chinatown outside Asia and the oldest in North America. It starts at Grant Avenue and Bush Street, on the edge of the Union Square shopping area. You can't miss the elaborately decorated archway over Grant, the gateway to a cornucopia of small shops, markets and restaurants, plus the many fairs, festivals and expositions that take place year-round.

The Mission. Warmer and sunnier than the rest of the city, the district is protected from fog and wind from the west. The Valencia Street corridor nurtured punk styles, music and culture of the 1980s, side-by-side with Latino families and artists. With recent gentrification the area is more expensive now, but still hip, edgy and artsy, full of studios, galleries, bookstores, performance spaces, and public art projects. Ritzy cafes and lounges mix with down-home Mexican restaurants and taquerías, complete with roving Mariachi bands. The Roxie Theater, the city's oldest continuously-operating cinema, screens repertory indie films and film festivals.

North Beach. When in Chinatown, stroll over to North Beach, the city's Little Italy neighborhood full of inviting restaurants and bakeries, many with sidewalk tables. Once the center for local beatnik subcultures, the district today has a mix of red light businesses and nightclubs amidst yupster residential neighborhoods. The San Francisco Art Institute can be found here, along with the City Lights Bookstore, set among area bars and coffee shops. A large Columbus Day/Italian-American Heritage Day parade takes place each October along Columbus Avenue.

Polk Gulch. The busy business district of restaurants, cafes and shops around a section of Polk Street, runs through the Nob Hill and Russian Hill neighborhoods. An early center for the community (1972 San Francisco Gay Pride Parade location), it has lost much of its former vitality - some would say sleaze. The transformation of lower Polk, with upscale destinations for mostly straight suburbanites, has pushed out most of the drug dealers and hustlers, and threatens what remains of a subculture of cross-class, cross-gender and cross-sexuality marginalized queers who hung out here. The trend continues to be the subject of much local debate. Meanwhile, the Cinch Saloon, San Francisco's second oldest gay bar survives, for a trip back to the old gay glory days.

SOMA. South of Market, a huge district that sprawls from the Embarcadero to 11th Street, between Market and Townsend, is another place to find gay life - particularly if you're into dancing and/or leather/fetish. It's also home to SFMOMA (the Museum of Modern Art) and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The annual Folsom Street Fair takes place between 7th and 12th Streets in September, following the smaller, less-commercialized leather-oriented Up Your Alley Fair (or Dore Alley Fair) in July, also held in the neighborhood. Many small theatre companies and performance venues add to the local cultural attractions. Also here, the Moscone Center hosts major conventions and expos, including Macworld, and LinuxWorld. The SF Pride parade typically heads down Market Street each June, from Beale at Embarcadero station down to 8th Street, Civic Center.

In focus:Where the (bare) boys are
Few tourists realize it's there, but San Francisco does have a gay nude beach. It's next to the city's most famous landmark, the Golden Gate Bridge, and is mostly unknown to pedestrians, who usually stroll along the wider sidewalk on the eastern side of the bridge. The beach is on the west side, reached via a sidewalk reserved for bicyclists.
The beach has many nicknames, but its official name is Marshall's Beach. Getting there used to be a difficult and sometimes treacherous hike, but five years ago the federal government refurbished the area and added walking paths down to the water. That has been a bit of a mixed blessing, because although the beach is still as gay and as nude as ever, more unsuspecting non-gays end up there.
The parking lot (also very gay) is at the end of Langdon Court, off Lincoln Boulevard. Langdon Court, more like a driveway than a street, dead-ends into the beach parking lot. Finding the path at the western end of the parking lot is tricky for first timers, but follow the gay men. You will have a lot of company on warm, sunny days.
You can also reach the beach from the Golden Gate Bridge. From the western side of the bridge, where the employee parking lot is located, follow Merchant Road. It curves to the left onto Lincoln Boulevard. Make a right on Lincoln Boulevard to Langdon Court. Make a right on Langdon Court to the beach parking lot.
You will see a number of rock shelters built to shield sunbathers from the wind and also to provide a bit of privacy. The beach tends to be more cruisy at its eastern tip. Keep in mind that this is federal land, so United States Park Police, not the San Francisco Police Department, have jurisdiction. Officers don't patrol routinely, but they do respond to complaints and will issue citations if they find anyone engaging in sexual activity.
Hardly anyone swims at the beach. The water is usually too cold. But you will see some people jump in the waves and quickly jump out. The waves can be dangerous, so stay away when the surf is rough.

A tip of the hat to the events listings editor at GayCities. Their hometown is well covered with an impressive list of everything going on all over The City, for months ahead this upcoming year. MissionMission covers the events, entertainment and restaurants beat in their neighborhood.

Groundswell, "a sustaining space for queer people and their allies," helps LGBTQ people lead healthier, more fulfilled lives, giving them tools to create change. Based on 200 acres of pristine Northern California land, two hours north of SF Bay, their retreat center and residential ecovillage host events such as Xrysalis, an August gathering by and for queer people of color.

Out In The Bay, a weekly gay radio show on KALW, 91.7 FM, ended production December 2015, but its website still streams their favorite past programs with interviews of community leaders, authors, artists, and others of interest.

Paradise Magazine is an arts, culture, music and style annual "art book disguised as a magazine," featuring artists of varying backgrounds, ages, and mediums. Buy in print, from stores, or online with digital downloads.

Party promoters and special events organizers abound. See the websites of some of the biggies: Bearracuda bear parties, Club Papi Latino nights, Gus PresentsUnderworld and Collosus nights, and Industry dances.

The Best Buck in the Bay Rodeo and Festival is a Bay Area Rodeo annual September event of GSGRA, the Golden State Gay Rodeo Association. They also sponsor weekly Country Western dance nights at area clubs.

BOSF, the Bears of San Francisco group, provides year-round social activities for bears and their friends.

For SFGMC, the San Franciso Gay Men's Chorus, now heading into their 40th season, “the singing will never be done!"

Those "shamanic, sacred fools," The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence emerged in San Francisco in 1979. Dedicated to "universal joy and the expiation of guilt," their events in the Bay Area raise funds for charitable organizations, bringing fun, laughter, and a better understanding of gay diversity to all. Easter Sunday celebrations include a Hunky Jesus Contest in Dolores Park.

SFStation and SFist are mainstream online guides to clubs, music, arts, and dining, with events listings.

The SFWeekly, a free alternative weekly newspaper, is a queer-friendly source for news and information about local music, film, culture, dining and lifestyle in The City.

The San Francisco Bay Guardian, one of the country's leading alternative papers, shut down their print edition in 2015 - but a good chunk of their archives remains online, along with an ongoing series of current articles and their Best of the Bay reviews, at the associated 48hills site.

The San Francisco Examiner, a mainstream daily tabloid, is distributed free in and around The Bay Area. The San Francisco Chronicle, the daily Hearst Corporation printed broadsheet, also publishes two websites: SFGate and sfchronicle.com.

For locations and website links to businesses listed below, plus some of the many museums, galleries and theater/performance venues, see our gay San Francisco map & listings pages.

Tip
Don't call The City "Frisco."

Memorable quotes

"San Francisco has only one drawback.'Tis hard to leave."
-- Rudyard Kipling

"San Francisco is a city where people are never more abroad than when they are at home."
-- Benjamin F Taylor

Pilsner Inn (225 Church St, Castro), famous for wide range of beers and peaceful garden patio, ten minutes walk from the Castro. Mixed and relaxed crowd of gay men and women, pool games, special drinks.

Mystopia Burning Man Playa community artists, dreamers, organizers, builders, designers, doctors, entrepreneurs, students and everything in between" party fundraisers and gatherings at various locations in San Francisco - mostly party boys in their 20s-30s. Also see Queer Burners info on the annual Labor Day Nevada desert camp events.

Swagger Like Us queer hip hop party takes place on various Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays throught the month at El Rio (3158 Mission St), Oasis (298 11th St, SoMa) and other venues, for a diverse, younger, mixed crowd.

UHaul,"San Francisco's Party for Girls Who Love Girls" happens second Fridays at Oasis (298 11th St, SOMA) and third Fridays at f8 Club (1192 Folsom St), with dancing dancing dancing and go-go gals all night.

Other party brands include: Bearracuda bear parties; Club Papi Latin nights with their famous go-go dancers; and Gus Presents dance parties such as Colossus, Industry, Sanctuary and Underworld. For these and more events around San Francisco each month, see their websites, and our events listings page.

SF Citadel (181 Eddy St, Tenderloin), duel level community dungeon playspace for weekend sex parties and relaxation; equipped with everything required for bondage, fetish, and play, home to the sexiest kinky BDSM men and women in the region.

The Watergarden (1010 The Alameda, San Jose), spotless "not-shame- based" destination bathhouse to the south of San Francisco -- more like a resort than a bathhouse; sex educators on hand.

Chow (215 Church St, Castro), one of four locations, breakfast, lunch and dinner every day in bright and airy surroundings; hearty American fare and old-fashioned deserts like ginger cake and pumpkin ice cream.

Harvey's (500 Castro St, Castro), bar and restaurant, tasty daily brunch items until 3pm, then snacks, salads and sandwiches. Dinner service until 11pm (2am weekends). Known as Elephant Walk when Harvey Milk did community work over meals here, the restaurant was renamed in 1996 to honor him.

Safeway (2020 Market St, Castro), often referred to as the Gayway, the queerest supermarket around; good selection of cheap wines.

Sparky's 24 Hour Diner (242 Church St, Castro), breakfast any time, very crowded after the bars close. Lunch and dinner include not only usual diner fare, but also pizzas, NY Steak, or Chicken Scallopine.

Books, Inc. (601 Van Ness, Opera Plaza; 3515 California St, Laurel Village; 2251 Chestnut St, The Marina), 11-store local independent bookstore chain that dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851. The SF Gay Men's Book Club meets at 5pm on second Sundays each month at the Opera Plaza store. The Intimates: East Bay Queer Book Club periodically meets to discuss a selected book at the Books Inc, Alameda store (1344 Park St).

City Lights Bookstore (261 Columbus Ave, North Beach), independent bookstore, publisher; specializing in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. Founded 1953 by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, put on trial for obscenity after publishing Allen Ginsberg's Howl and Other Poems in 1956.

Does Your Mother Know? (4141 18th St, Castro), began as a stationary store, now with adult toys, lube and erotic party favors too.

Dog Eared Books (900 Valencia St, Mission + 489 Castro St), good books cheap, magazines, eclectic/varied selections; new, used and remaindered. The San Francisco LGBT Book Club meets at their Castro store, second Wednesdays at 7pm.

See our map & listings hotels & guesthouses section for another 40 suggestions on where to stay in the Bay Area.

Greater Bay Area

The City anchors the San Francisco Bay Area region, home to 7.6 million people, that includes the cities of San Jose, Berkeley and Oakland. Gay clubs in these towns include the area's only two gay bathhouses.